A question I get asked quite often: What can you prepare for a festive party without spending the whole time in the kitchen instead of with your guests?
Well, we hotel people tend to be very pragmatic â we know that good, down-to-earth country cooking not only makes both young and old happy, but can usually be prepared completely the day before. The secret isnât extravagance; itâs organization, warmth, and a menu that lets you enjoy the company youâve invited.
#7/8. Samhain and All Saints â the quiet threshold between autumn and winter, when the veil between the worlds of the living and the dead feels especially thin. Itâs a time that invites reflection, remembrance, and gratitude for all that has shaped us.
The weather couldnât fit better â grey, still, and cold enough to call for candles, warmth, and quiet thoughts. The kind of day that makes you sit down with a cup of tea, light incense, and listen â not only to the world around you, but also to the one within.ningly this that much slew.
Nothing is harder than trying to please everyone. At 53, let me share something with you: every year it gets easier to stand true to yourself. And honestly, Iâm deeply grateful for the person Iâve become. Iâve lived a lot. Iâve learned a lot. Iâve got stories, scars, and laughter â and I wouldnât trade any of it. I am me. And yes, I like me.
In the past, I often wished life would calm down â fewer ups and downs, less turbulence. Did that happen? No. And today, Iâm glad it didnât. Because peace isnât the absence of motion; itâs the ability to find stillness within it. I appreciate moments of harmony now, and Iâm profoundly thankful that Iâve learned to walk away from people who drain me instead of give me energy. That, Iâm convinced, is one of lifeâs greatest medicines as you grow older.
I donât just love this book because of its beautiful cover. I love it because of what it holds inside. From the very first pages, I felt that Isabel Allende wasnât simply writing about women â she was writing to us, with us, and even through us.
My copy is now full of dog-eared pages, each corner folded down on a passage that spoke directly to my heart.
A total change of scenery â switching hemispheres, yet still on the same earth. This time: Australia. đ
Iâve travelled a lot, but somehow never made it here when I was younger. Back then, hotels werenât quite ready to tackle the visa maze, and so the dream stayed tucked away â somewhere between curiosity and possibility. Years later, with age, a little patience, and family ties (my step-daughter lived there), I finally went. What followed was a journey of beauty, questions, and humility â a reminder of how vast and fragile our planet truly is.
Please swipe slowly â itâs worth it.
Today, Iâd like to inspire both seasoned professionals and those just beginning their journey in hospitality â and of course, everyone who feels drawn by that wave of CHANGE currently sweeping through our industry â with a fascinating topic: C for Conversation & Psychology, the quiet forces behind every genuine guest experience.
From first impressions to complaint management, from guest relations to team spirit â every interaction is psychology in action. Hospitality, at its best, is not about perfection, but perception: how we make others feel seen, respected, and valued.
This time, Iâm looking at it from the teamâs perspective â because sometimes, we find ourselves serving guests we might never even greet in our ânormalâ lives.
And yet, thatâs part of the magic. Hospitality challenges us to move beyond personal preference and to meet people where they are â with empathy, curiosity, and grace.
Have you noticed this too when coming back from France? Itâs not just that driving on French highways feels like pure ease â calm drivers, long stretches of road framed by fields and vineyards. Even the smallest encounters seem touched by something softer.
A quick stop at the bakery, for example, can turn into a quiet reminder of grace: a grateful wave when you let someone merge into traffic, a patient smile as two cars negotiate a narrow village street, a cheerful âbonjour, Madameâ or âmerci, Monsieurâ that feels sincere. These gestures may seem ordinary, but together they weave a rhythm of gentleness that lingers long after youâve left.
I absolutely love it â because those little gestures of kindness are the best happiness boosters. They donât cost anything, yet they enrich everything. Itâs as if the sun you share with someone else ends up shining right back on your own face.
So no â please donât ever believe everything you see here. And definitely donât compare it to your own life. Even in five-star hotels, there are guests who arrive in a Ferrari â and then, at check-out, their credit card doesnât go through. What shines on the outside isnât always what it seems.
When I post here, I try to share the little things that bring me real joy â the quiet details, the moments that make me pause. Maybe, just maybe, theyâll spark a touch of everyday inspiration for you too. â¨
– flip through the slides –
But like in every good hotel team, thereâs also a backstage. Behind the polished smiles and the soft lights, thereâs sadness, insecurity, frustration, disappointment, and challenge. I donât always serve them up on a silver platter â not because they donât exist, but because not everything needs to be displayed to be real.
Still, theyâre part of the story. And now and then, Iâll let you in. Because life, in all its contrasts, is what connects us most deeply. Whether itâs about love, work, friendship, or the quiet storms within â everyone carries their own version of âbehind the scenes.â
Here in the South, nature often sparkles in golden sunlight, and itâs tempting to believe that beauty is effortless. But real beauty grows slowly. It needs rain, shadow, and imperfection. Otherwise⌠itâs just an illusion â beautiful on the surface, but without roots.
So letâs keep sharing both the sunshine and the storms â with honesty, warmth, and a little grace. âď¸đ§ď¸
And you â whatâs something real, imperfect, or quietly beautiful that shaped your week?
#6/8. For me, this sixth ritual â out of eight nature rituals â is about pausing, looking back at the past months, and finding balance and harmony for the time ahead. đž
The little reading dog in the picture stands as a symbol of thankfulness â a gentle reminder that everything still growing in the forest and meadows now belongs to nature and the animals as they prepare for winter. đż Itâs the moment when the gardener, the wanderer, the observer steps back, allowing the cycle of life to continue on its own.
The art of gardening is not only about craft and hard work. After all â what good is the most beautiful garden if the gardener never sits down to enjoy it? Amid all the pruning, planting, and perfecting, we often forget that the truest reward lies not in the labor, but in the quiet moment that follows.
